That question, too, was a difficult one for him to answer completely just yet.
'To move on to the next stage...'
I must have the strength to face the enemies of the next stage.
If I'm not certain, no matter how slowly I level up, I must continue to hunt the enforcers.
Since I've wiped out all the enforcers here, it's only natural to hunt enforcers, even if it means going to another city.
I should check the abilities I've gained from reaching Level 7 before I come up with an answer to that problem.
> [ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
> Critical ERROR..........
As expected.
Along with the Level Up, the now-familiar Critical ERROR message window appeared, clouding his mind.
A critical error.
It would be nice if it stopped telling me, but this time too, the system unfailingly informed him that he was the product of a critical error.
Click.
Dong Bongsu closed the noisy error window.
He calmly began to check the benefits gained from the Level Up.
The Stat Window showed nothing more than the usual, consistent increases.
The Quest Window was still littered with X marks, and there were no new gifts in the Inventory.
Just like when he went from Level 2 to 6, the only window with any distinctive change was the Skill Window.
First, the proficiency of the two Active Skills he obtained at Level 5 had increased slightly.
This was something he already knew and expected.
The important thing was that upon reaching Level 7, two new skills had been added.
> [ Qi Circulation Art Lv.1 Proficiency: 0% ]
>
> A training method of artificially guiding the qi accumulated in the Dantian through the Meridians distributed throughout the body.
>
> Upon activation, it temporarily increases Attack Power and Defense Power.
>
> Duration/Cooldown: 5/10 (minutes)
>
> True Qi Cost per use: 100 QP
>
> Current Skill Bonus:
>
> Attack Power/Defense Power +30%
> [ Three Forces Sword Art Second Form: Piercing Yellow Dragon Lv.1 Proficiency: 0% ]
>
> A sword art exceedingly common in the Murim.
>
> Even ordinary people without Internal Energy can learn it.
>
> Piercing Yellow Dragon is an enhanced version of Thrust.
>
> All action bonuses for this skill are related to the proficiency of related skills and the activation of Sword Qi/Sword Aura.
>
> Current Applied Level: Lv.1
>
> (The Player can adjust the level of this skill.)
>
> Thrust Range Bonus: 1%
>
> Thrust Attack Power Bonus: 1%
>
> Thrust Activation Speed Bonus: -0%
>
> True Qi Cost per use: 30 QP
Lightness Skill, Qi Circulation Art, Three Forces Sword Art First and Second Forms.
Dong Bongsu methodically checked the abilities of the skills he just obtained, along with the ones he got at Level 5.
The Lightness Skill could be used like a Passive Skill if he had infinite QP, and the Three Forces Sword Art was, as the name 'Sword Art' implied, an attack skill.
On the other hand, the Qi Circulation Art was the first 'Buff' type skill he had obtained.
The True Qi consumption seemed quite large, but the ability it granted was excellent.
A 30% increase in Attack Power and Defense Power.
He could guess how tremendous it was without even using it.
Although it had the drawback of a 5-minute duration and a 10-minute cooldown, if he used it only when necessary, that drawback didn't seem so significant.
Next.
Shwing~.
He tried performing the First and Second Forms of the Three Forces Sword Art, Thousand Army Sweep, and Piercing Yellow Dragon, in succession.
They connected very smoothly, but there didn't seem to be any special bonus.
He then tried using them in reverse order, but again, the two movements just flowed together flexibly as if they were originally one.
That was all.
He realized that there was no special benefit to be gained from using consecutive forms of the same sword art.
After finishing his check of the new skills, he put Jo Pyeong's horribly mangled corpse into his Inventory and moved forward.
Splash, splash.
The road of Paradise Village, which had turned into a sea of blood, soon came to an end.
Behind Paradise Village, wide rice paddies and fields stretched out, and in the middle of them stood a rather large manor.
Paradise Manor.
"Paradise."
An unfitting name.
Ah, but from my perspective, it's a fittingly romantic name.
For me, that is.
Once I bring that place down, all the Unorthodox Factions in Soaring Sun will be gone.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
After trying out my new skills over there, I will decide.
Whether to advance or to stay here a little longer.
Dong Bongsu stepped into Paradise Manor.
Thinking that enforcers might be hiding in the rice paddies and fields, he approached slowly and cautiously.
However, there was no one to obstruct his advance.
On the contrary, the gates of Paradise Manor were wide open.
Seeing the open gates, he thought of two stratagems that the Black Snake Society Leader, Bang Po-yeom, could have chosen.
The Empty Fort Strategy? Or Retreat is the Best Strategy?
If it was the Empty Fort Strategy, he would have to halt his advance for now, and if it was Retreat is the Best Strategy, he would also have to stop here.
After all, there would be no one inside if he went in.
Nevertheless, Dong Bongsu stepped inside Paradise Manor.
Because besides the two stratagems, there was one more choice a person could make.
That was.
Giving up.
When humans face a difficulty they cannot possibly handle or are on the verge of losing everything, they choose one of two options.
Either they fight to the death, or they simply die.
Dong Bongsu was certain that Bang Po-yeom had chosen the latter.
The entirety of Paradise Manor was shrouded in such an atmosphere.
The fight in Paradise Village must have been nothing more than a last stand before death.
"Are you the Nameless Righteous Swordsman?"
As Dong Bongsu set foot inside Paradise Manor, an old and empty voice came from the darkness.
A skinny old man with white hair was looking at Dong Bongsu.
Dong Bongsu intuitively knew that the old man was Bang Po-yeom.
Dong Bongsu said nothing in response to Bang Po-yeom's words.
He just slowly approached Bang Po-yeom.
"If you're a Wandering Hero, why are you all bundled up like that?"
"Because I'm not a Wandering Hero."
A single short phrase.
"Heh heh. Not a Wandering Hero? Then why have you been going around killing members of the Unorthodox Factions?"
"Because I'm not a Wandering Hero."
The answer was the same.
And it was the correct answer for both.
He covered his face because he wasn't a Wandering Hero, and he went around killing enforcers because he wasn't a Wandering Hero.
"Heh heh. So you've deceived everyone in Soaring Sun."
"I have never deceived anyone. They just believed it on their own."
As expected, Dong Bongsu spoke the truth.
He had merely hidden himself within the beliefs people wanted to believe.
There is a saying that you see as much as you know.
Similarly, people believe what they want to believe or what they want to see.
For their own convenience.
The truth behind it all doesn't matter.
"An interesting fellow. Even if I cross the Sanzu River today, I don't think I'll have any regrets."
Clang!
A clear Sword's Cry echoed inside Paradise Manor.
Bang Po-yeom had drawn his sword.
"Come. Whether you're the Nameless Righteous Swordsman or not, you've come to kill me anyway. Let's have a go."
Dong Bongsu also slowly drew his sword.
It was the Beginner's Sword.
And he even used the skill he obtained today, Qi Circulation Art.
A fierce energy erupted from his body in an instant.
"A good sword, and a good momentum."
Bang Po-yeom said in admiration as he pointed his sword towards Dong Bongsu.
It was a kind of etiquette exchanged when crossing swords.
But Dong Bongsu didn't know of such things.
And even if he had, he wouldn't have followed it.
Shriing-.
The merciless cry of a sword.
To him, a sword was nothing more than a weapon to kill the opponent.
Dong Bongsu rushed at Bang Po-yeom without a moment's hesitation.
How strong am I now? Am I strong enough to leap into the real Murim?
Step, step.
Dong Bongsu asked himself the question again as he left Paradise Manor.
Drip, drip, drip.
The answer was given by the blood dripping from the tip of his sword.
That it was now time to advance to the next stage.
Jianghu Murim.
It is a world of battles that cross life and death, a land of ambition where desires are realized.
A place where revenge and grudges are entangled like skeins of thread, where the laws of daily life are ignored, and the laws of the Jianghu take precedence.
If you gain power, you rule over the world, but if you fall behind, you must lay your body down on the cold earth, bleeding.
Thus, sayings like 'heartless Jianghu' or 'merciless Jianghu' came to be.
Although Martial Artists are classified with words like Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic Path, to ordinary people, it was all nonsense.
In their eyes, all Martial Artists were just the same: 'outlaws'.
The current Murim was in a state where three great powers formed a balance.
This is the so-called Tripartite Balance of Power.
The image of a cauldron with three legs standing firm.
If even one of these legs were to collapse, the situation of the world would change drastically.
People called each of the powers that formed the three legs of the cauldron the Three Hegemons, and accordingly, they referred to the current Jianghu as the World of the Three Hegemons.
The Martial Alliance.
An assembly formed by the Nine Sects and One Union, the Five Great Families of the Central Plains, and numerous small and medium-sized orthodox sects of the Jianghu.
Since the faction that led the formation of the Martial Alliance was Shaolin, its headquarters is also located in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province, near Mount Song, where Shaolin is.
If all the orthodox sects belonging to the Martial Alliance were to unite, the largest force in the Murim would undoubtedly be the Martial Alliance.
However, according to the laws of the Martial Alliance, the Martial Alliance Leader has very limited authority, so the massive organization that is the Martial Alliance cannot be privatized by them.
Therefore, the Martial Alliance is usually nothing more than a symbolic organization of the Orthodox Faction.
However, there are times when all the orthodox sects of the Murim unite as one under the banner of the Martial Alliance and its Leader, and that is when the Central Plains are invaded by foreign forces.
Except for such times, it is merely a loosely connected federation, and sometimes, fierce secret struggles and conflicts occur among the orthodox sects within it.
Heavenly Demon Castle.
A group of those who worship the Heavenly Demon who unified the Murim a thousand years ago, located in Xinjiang.
Their influence actually reaches every corner of the world, but their outwardly visible power is concentrated in Xinjiang and Tibet.
It is practically the largest single force in the Murim, and the Lord of the Heavenly Demon Castle holds absolute power within it.
If he so decided, the masters of the Heavenly Demon Castle could cross Qinghai and invade the Central Plains as early as tomorrow.
However, in that case, the Martial Alliance Leader would issue a Martial Alliance Edict to launch an immediate counterattack, which is why they cannot make a move so easily.
Assembly Hall.
It is the weakest of the Three Hegemons, a power despised and called the Heretical Sects of the Side Door.
However, if they were to side with the Martial Alliance, the world would immediately become the world of the Orthodox Faction, and if they were to side with the Heavenly Demon Castle, the Heavenly Demon Castle would immediately conquer the world.
This makes the Assembly Hall the faction that, in fact, plays the most crucial role in the Tripartite Balance.
It's not just that they are masters of tightrope walking that makes them fearsome.
As they control the underworld, they are the only force with enough financial power to move even the government officials, albeit in a limited capacity, from the shadows.
For the past hundred years, there have been no fatal clashes between these three powers.
It was a so-called period of peace.
But the Tripartite Balance of Power is an unstable situation that begins to creak the moment one side's balance is even slightly off.
In truth, this cauldron called the Murim Jianghu has been creaking constantly for the past hundred years.
It is only the dangerous tightrope walking of the Assembly Hall that has maintained the equilibrium.
What if.
What if this cauldron had not three, but four legs?
And what if that leg was in the very center of the cauldron, not easily visible from the outside?
What if that central leg has been maintaining the balance from the shadows?
The three legs have perhaps been under the illusion that the balance is maintained by them alone.
Because at a glance, the center leg is barely visible, giving the illusion that its presence or absence makes no difference.
Is that really so?
If the central leg is much larger and sturdier than the other three legs combined, then the cauldron can stand even without the other three.
If there truly is an invisible leg, and that leg is larger and stronger than the other three combined.